


"^^ 















\ 






V. *• 


















./^.'^^'\ /.tS^^-^ ..**\.i;^.V /.i 



0^^ 



^-^ 



<#'^ 



^> 4 






"^^^0^ 
^-^9^ 



* Ay 




.5>^>. 



.^' ^^^ -.^^Ji^" ^^'% °-TO^^/ V ^- 









<,_ -o.*" ,0 






1^ ,o* "^-t.. V 













.ILf* '^'?' 





















TvT* A 






/.i^'V /.^'^^A .-^*\c:,^%\ ^0^ 












' "V^'^V^ \J'^?^V^ "v*^"**^^^ 



K* ^^ ^^ 



V<^^ 



"a>V 






0-., -^O 
















q,. *.. 



^^^•c.o-'\/ "^^^^'^-S^' ~V^^7^'\^^' "^^^ 



■^^^ 







V. 




VAo^ 




7 ^-1 O^ . , 













«<*'S 



'av<b- 











^-,. *'^^'\.^ 




-^.^ "^^rr*' A 



PROCEEDINGS 



AT A 



PUBLIC BlWilflER m ALBEinARLE COUl^TY, YIR«I1¥I^ 

GIVEN 

TO MR. WILLIAM C. RIVES, 

LATE \ 

A SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THAT STATE. 



PROCEEDINGS 



PUBLIC DINNER IN ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VIRGINIA. 



A public dinner was giyen to William C. Rives, 
Esq. on the 19th of the jiresent instant, at the 
Eagle Hotel, Charlottesville, as had been previous- 
ly determined on by a meeting- of a portion of the 
citizens of Albemarle county, (which has been al- 
ready made known, with a publication of the letter 
of invitation, and its acceptance,) in consideration 
of their personal regard towards liim, and of their 
decided appiobatlon of the course he had pursued 
as a member in the Senate of the United States, 
and in the discharge of the various duties which 
had been assigned him. At about 3 o'clock, P. 
M. the company, consisting of 87 gentlemen — 
that being as large a number as could convenient- 
ly be accommodated — with their distinguished 
guest, together with Captain Par'.ridg-e; Judge Ir- 
vin, of Michigan Territory, and Col. Wilson of 
Botetourt, who had been invited to partake of the 
festivities of the occasion, took their seats at a 
sumptuous and elegant dinner, prepared in the 
very best style, by Mr. John Vowles, the propri- 
etor of the Hotel. Thomas W. Maury, Esq. 
acted as President, assisted by Henry White, and 
Martin Dawson, Esqs. as Vice Presidents. After 
the cloth had been removed, the following toasts 
were drank: 

1- Our Country: "The Und of the free, and 
the home of the brave. " "It needs no bulwark," 
whilst the people hold the purse and the sword. 

2. The memory of George Washington: By 
wisdom and valor, he won an empire, but refused 
a diadem. He chose Liberty in its stead, and be- 
queathed the rich heritage to man. 

3. The memory of Thomas Jefferson: He fell 
on the anniversary of his political meridian, and 
(like a falling star,) has left a train of hght behind 
to guide the benighted pilgrim in ]iursuit of " his 
long-lost liberty." 

4. Our Guest and Fellow -citizen, Wm. C. 
EiVEs: Alike distinguished for his firm, consistent, 
and unwavering exertions, to protect the Govern- 
ment of the United States from the ravages of 
Nullification, and to rescue it from the gulf of 
Consolidation — the interpreter of the Constitution 
and its powers, as construed by the Republicans 
of '98, the immort&l Jefferson ami Madison. Let 
him be fairly tried by the People. 

Mr. Rives arose and addressed the company in 
substance as follows: 

Gentlemen: 1 should be either more or less than 
a man, if I were not moved, deeply moved b}' the 
manifi. station of aiFectionate kindness .-md regard, 
with which you have greeted m)' return among 
you, on the present occasion. You are all, gen- 
tlemen, my countrymen, .and neighbors — tlie I 
companions or patrons of my eaily years — the j 



eye-witnesses and near observers of my conduct 
iu all the relations of life, public and private. 
With a knowledge of my character and principles 
thus acquired, you have generously stepped for- 
ward, at a moment when a sentence of political 
ostracism has been passed upon me by others, to 
assure me of your undiminished confidence, to 
cheer me with your approbation and regard, to 
welcome me hack to your society, and to tlie 
communionof kindred pursuits and kindred feel- 
ings. This is a testimony, on which I can repose 
wuh consoling and triumphant consciousness^ 
amid all the denunciations and revilings to which 
I have been so unsparingly subjected. I shall 
cherish it, gentlemen, with grateful recollection, 
and transmit it to my children as the most unim- 
peachable muniment of that inheritance of cha- 
racter and public esteem which I desire, above 
all earthly possessions, to leave to them. 

The great public question, in which the part 
borne by me, has called forth this kind and flatter- 
ing expression of feeling from you in my behalf^ 
is one of the most momentous character which 
was ever submitted for the consideration of a free 
people, wisely jealous of their rights and liberties. 
It involves, in fact, the whole question of free Go- 
vernment. The issue it presents is nothing less 
than this — Shall the Pes>ple of these United 
States, in the true spirit of their institutions, go- 
vern themselves by their own agents freely cho- 
sen and responsible to them, animated with com- 
mon sympathies and common interests, and ame- 
nable at all times, to the control of public opinion; 
or, renouncing the precious inheritance confer- 
red upon by tiie valor and wisdom of their ances- 
tors, tamely submit to be ruled and lorded over, 
by a sordid and selfish aristocracy, in tke form of 
a great moneyed corporation, without response 
bility, without sympathy, without check of anj 
sort, legal or moral? The Bank of the U. States 
has abundantly shewn by its conduct, that, though 
nominally established for commercial purposes, 
its ruling passion (in conformity to the example of 
all great moneyed associ.itions, of which history 
has recorded the existence,) is that of political 
domination. To secure itself against opposition 
in the pursuit of its schemes, it seeks to command 
the public councils, and by an influence, both ex- 
ternal and internal, to control and supersede the 
action of the Government. Nor is it difficult to 
conceive, that an institution, like the Bank of the 
United States, wielding an immense capital, pene- 
trating with its branches every ])ortion of the 
Union, connecting itself by the fearful extent of 
its operations (nmouiiting annually to between 
three and four hundred millions of dollars,) with. 



the business and concerns of every individual in 
the community — it is not difficult to conceive, I 
say, that such an institution, if unchecked in its 
career, should be able to make itself virtually the 
master of the country. Sjiould it unhappily tri- 
umph in the daring struggle it is now maintaini.ig 
with the constituted authorities of the nation, the 
forms of the Constitution may still remain, but, as 
a system of popular Government, its substance 
and vitality will be gone forever. We shall be 
henceforward, in fact, the vassals and slaves of a 
heartless moneyed power, whose despotic sway 
will only be rendered the more intolerable by the 
bitter mockery of the still subsisting forms and 
semblance of free Government. 

Let it not be supposed, gentlemen, that the ob- 
ject of this struggle on the part of the Bank, is a 
mere restoration of the public deposites to its 
ieeping. Its aim is far higher and deeper — no- 
thing less than the renewal of its charter, and the 
perpetuation of its power. I foresaw, from the 
commencement of the controversy, and declared 
in my place in the Senate, that these two great 
questions were indissolubly connected — insepara- 
ble parts of the same system. It was impossible 

\ to conceive that the restoration of the deposites for 
tlie brief space of two years, could be so urgently 
sought, or that it could be expected to afford any 
valuable relief from the pecuniary pressure pro- 
duced by the winding up of the Bank, unless it 
were regarded as the certain means and immediate 
precurser of a renewal of its charter. What was 
opinion then, is now fact; prediction has been con- 
verted into history. The Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Finance, in the Senate, has, as we have 
seen, given notice, that by direction and authority 

^f the committee, he would, on the 17th iust. (the 
day before yesterday,) bring forward a measure, 
deemed by them the only one of effectual relief 
for the distresses of the country, to wit: a mea- 
sure "for the restoration of the deposites and the 
rechartering of the Bank;" thus associating the 
tw» objects, (as they now stand by their own na- 
tures,) in indissoluble connection. ' The chairman 
of the committee exposes, at the same time, with 
a, frankness, for which, in these times, he merits 
no small praise, the whole plan of operations on 
which the friends of the measure rely for success. 
With a view to "unite different opinions," as he 
informs us, the Bank is proposed to be recharter- 
ed " for a short period, " as if, in point of principle, 
the constitution would not be as much violated by 
a recharter for a single day, as for twenty years, 
and as if, too, a recharter for four or five years, 
(the term probably projiosed,) woidd not certain 
Ij put it in the power of the Bank to secure here- 
after an indefinite extension of its existence. He 
then tells us, that, "considering the present state 
of opinion witliin the walls of Congress, and with 
the Chief Executive Magistrate, the measure is to 
be submitted to the People in a more direct and 
emphatic manner than is usual in ordinary cases;" 
expressing, at the same time, his b.'lief, that "in 
vrdir to relieve themselves from the distresses under 
whichihey labor, if the question were now put to 
the People, not less than three-fourths of them 
would give an affirmative response." We arc, 
then, finally told, that, "while the present stata 



of embarrassment and distress shall continue," (as 
continue it must, according to the committee, till 
the Bank is rechartered,) "an adjournment of 
Congress is a thing not to be thought of." 

What, gentlemen, is the obvious interpretation, 
the plain English of all this? The distresses ^ 
the People being relied on as the cogent instr' 
ment of persuasion, the Bank is to go on to aggr* 
vate, by every means in its power,the pecuniary di 
tress of the country. Under the duress of this pre ■^ 
^ure the People will, it is expected, "in order to ru 
lieve" their pockets, compromise their principle." 
and call upon their Representatives for a rechai j 
ter of the Bank. While these extorted insti'ui 
tions of the People are pouring in, the Senate i \ 
to lay siege to the House of Representatives, aw ' 
prevent, an adjournment of Congress; and tlii 
grand operaiion is to terminate only only with ; i 
surrender, at discretion, of the People and thei 
Representatives, to the coercion of the Bank 
Here is a bold and frank avowal, at least, of botl 
the end and tiie mean of the great struggle whicl 
is now convulsing the country. That end is open 
ly proclaimed to be, a recharter of the Bank 
and the means relied on for success, is tlie new " 
species of /oz-^ure, by the infliction of pecuniar) 
distress, operating first on the People, and through .. 
them on their Representatives. , 

If I have not greatly misunderstood my counJ 
trymen, this scheme of operations is founded on s i 
total misconception of their character. Every | 
new oppression of the Bank, will but confirn: 
them in their resolution to put down the oppress 
sor. Every additional instance of embarrassmen' * 
and distress produced by it, will be but an argu- 
ment the more against the existence of an institu- 
tion, capable of inflicting such wanton and gratui- 
tous mischief on the country. It has been justly 
said by an eloquent and philosophical writer, that 
"men are often hardened by their very pains, 
and the mind, strengthened even by the torments 
of the body, rises with a strong defiance against 
its oppressor." So will it be with the free and 
enlightened people of this country, in regard to 
the oppressions of the Bank. They will hurl 
back defiance in the teeth of the oppressor. In- 
stead of the submissive and " affirmative response" 
which has been anticipated, they will answer in 
the proud spirit of freemen: " We know too well 
the blessings of liberty, to permit any paltry con- 
sideration ot money to weigh against them. We 
know too well how much, both of blood and trea- 
sure, the establishment of our institutions cost our 
gallant ancestors, not to be ready and willing to 
bear the small sacrifice, (insignificant, indeed, 
compared with that they manfully encountered,) 
which may now be thrown upon us in their main- 
tenance and defence. We shall glory in the op- 
portunity, if the Bank so will it, of showing our 
devotion to those institutions, by meeting, not 
only with fortitude, but with disdain, all the rfis- 
trcsses it can inflict upon us, in the utmost extre- 
mity of Its vengeance; and, far from indulging the 
unworthy thought of deprecating its wrath, by 
instructing our representatives to yield to its de- 
mand of a rechater, we will enjoin it upon them 
to redouble their opposition, and not to relax iu 



their efforts, till this unconstitutional and sordid 
tyranny has been finally put down." 

The arguments with which it has been attempt- 
ed to alieuate the people from the support of their 
government in this vital struggle, have no less un- 
derrated their intelligence and sagacity, than the 
scheme of operations relied on to overcome their 
principles, has underrated their patriotism and 
virtue. They have been told tliat tlie President 
has united in his own hands the power of the 
sword and of the purse--that, by the Constitution, 
he holds the one, and by his own arbitrary and 
lawless act, he has grasped the other— that the 
separation of these two powers is a ftmdamental 
ma.xim of free government, and that their union 
m the same hands forms an unmitigated despotism. 
Now, gentlemen, in the first place, the enlighten- 
ed people of this country know full well, tliat the 
maxim so pompously and frequently cited, with 
regard to the fundamental importance of a sepa- 
ration ofthe powers of the purse and the sword, is a 
maxim of monarchies, and Is consequently wholly 
inapplicable to our republican institutions. In mo- 
narchical systems, the power ofthe sword, to wit, 
that of raising armies, equipping fleets, making 
war, Sec, being m the hands of an hereditary 
Chief Magistrate, holding his power independent- 
ly of the people, it is indispensable to the preser- 
vation ofthe public liberties, that the power of 
the purse should be separated from it, and placed 



objects for which the money so raised is to be ex- 
pended, this power is, in like manner, confided by 
the Constitution to Congress, the Immediate Repre- 
sentatives of the people, and has neither been 
claimed nor exercised, in any way whatever, by 
the President. "Will it be pretended that he has 
raised, or attempted to raise, by his authority, a 
solitary cent from tiie pockets of the people; or 
that he has, by his authority, undertaken to expend 
a solitary cent ofthe public money for objects not 
authorized by Congress^ And yet, if he has not, 
what ground is tliere for the accusation tliat he has 
arbitrarily and lawlessly usurped the power ofthe 
public purse? Can any color be found for such a 
charge in the circumstance that, under the Con- 
stitution and laws, the E.xecutive Department be- 
ing intrusted with the collection, keeping, and ac- 
countability ofthe public moneys, the President, 
as the responsible head of that department, and ia 
execution of a power to that effect expressly 
granted by Congress, had thought it necessary and 
proper, that the unexpended balance ofthe pub- 
lic moneys should be removed from one place of 
keeping, where the trust had been shamelessly 
abused, to another, where such abuse was not ap- 
prehended? I think, gentlemen, you will amwer 
with one voice, No. 

The people also have been told, that the Presi- 
dent had broken into the public Treasury, seized 
the public money, and th.it he now controls the 



in other hands. But, in our free, republican sys- 1 whole public revenue of the country. These de- 
tem, this reason for a separation of the powers of I nunciations have been made, as if, by the mere 



the purse and the sword has no application what 
ever, and they are both lodged, where only they 
can be safely lodged, in the hands of the "repre- 
sentatives of the people. Our Constitution, there- 
fore, does not recognise, but expresslv repudiates 
this monarchical maxim; for, the fundamental 
principle of American liberty, as vou have so well 
declared by the sentiment embodied in your first 
toast, is, the union of the sword and purse in the 
hands of the people. But yet, under color of an 
antiquated maxim, borrowed from the English 
and other European monarchies, and entirely in- 
applicable to our free institutions, attempts have 
been made to alarm the jealousies of the people 
with regard to the security of their liberties in 
this respect. 

The President, gentlemen, holils neither the 
power of the purse, nor tliat of the sword. They 
are both, as you have justly and properly snid, in 
the hands of the people by their representatives. 
The circumstance of the President being by the 
Constitution commander of the Army and Navy, 
when raised, and ofthe militia, when called forthi 
does not give him the power ofthe swoi-d; but it 
isthepowerofmsiVi^q- the Army and Navy, of 
calling forth the militia, of declaring the war In 
which they are to be used, and of directing for 
what objects they may be employed; it is these 
powers which form the power of the sword, and 
every one of them has been expressly confided by 
the Constitution to Congress, the immediate repre- 
sentatives of the people. As commander-in-chief, 
the President is but an instrument ofthe powers of 
Congress. _ So, in regard to the power of the 
purse, which consists in that of raising money from 



transfer ofthe public deposltes from one set of 
Banks to another, the ])ub!ic moneys have been 
taken out of that official and responsible custody, 
which alone constitutes the Tieasury — and, as If 
they were now at the unlimited disjjositl.m ofthe 
President, to be used by him for his private pur- 
poses, or to be bestowed in largesses on his favo- 
rites, just as he may think proper. Are not repre- 
sentations such as these an insult to the under- 
standings of the people? Is it supposed thit the 
citizens of this enlightened Republic are wholly 
ignorant ofthe laws and institutions under which 
they live? The people know full well, gentle- 
men, that the public moneys are as much now un- 
der the responsible guard of the public Treasury 
as they ever were — that not a dollar has been, or 
can be, drawn out and expended for any purpose 
which has not been expressly authorized and 
sanctioned by their Representatives in Congress — 
and that the President cannot get a cent even of 
his own salary, without passing thnjugh all the 
precautionary forms and checks of a warrant 
drawn by the Secretary, countersigned by the 
Comptroller, recorded by the Register, and or- 
dered to be paid by the Treasurer, which the law 
has prescribed. 

To sustain these charges against your patriotic 
Chief Magistrate, gentlemen, novelties of the 
most startling character have been advanced in 
regard to the administrative and constitutional 
theory of the government. It has been contend- 
ed, that the Treasury Department is not an Ex- 
ecutive Department — that the Secr&tary of the 
Treasury, though from the first organization of 
the government to the present day, he has, as the 



the pockets ofthe people, and of designating the I 'lead of an Executive Department, held a seat in 



the Cabinet of the President, and has been, both 
by the usiiages of the Government and the pro- 
visions of law, placed in ihe same relations with 
the President i.s the other Secretaries or Heads 
of Depaitments are; yet, unlike them, he is 
wholly independent of the President: in short, 
that th. ugh the power of removal and con- 
trol on the part of the President, with regard to 
all the Secretaries, was fully considered and set- 
tled in the most solemn manner, by the first Con- 
gress which assembled under the Constitution, 
and has ever since remained undisputed; yet that 
that, and all subsequent Congresses, to the pre- 
sent day, mistook the principles of the Consti 
tulion in this respect, and that, while by its the- 
ory, the P'esident, as the- Executive head, is 
responsible for the ccnduct of all his Secretaries, 
he is to have no power to control the conduct of 
those for whom lie is thus responsible! These 
novel and extraordinary doctrines will be appre- 
ciated as they ought to be, by those whom it most 
concerns, and to whom it riglitfullv belongs to 
appreciate them. The same enlightened and in- 
corruptible tribunal, too, will not fail to see, that 
in the actual position of the great question, they 
are now called on to decide, there can be niD 
neutrals. A vital issue is joined between a dar- 
ing and unconstitutional moneyed power, strug- 
gling for supremacy on the one hand, and be- 
tween tlie delegated and responsible government 
of the people seeking to vindicate and maintain 
the powers which have been committed to it in 
trust lor the public good, on the other. In such 
a contest, he who, by exaggerated or unfounded 
charges against the government, contributes to 
deprive it of the public confidence and support 
necessary to sustain it in so momentous a strug- 
gle, as efiectually aids the bank and subserves 
its triumph, as he who should come forth openly 
as the champion and advocate of the bank. * 

Nor can the People of Virginia forget, that 
the firmness, moral courage, and constitutional 
principles of the present Chief Magistrate, have 
formed the great dyke, which has protected the 
political doctrines so long cherished by her from 
the swelling tide of federal encroachment. Break 
down that dyke at the present moment, by cause- 
lessly and rashly undermining the foundation of 
popular confidence and aflection on which it 
rests, and the united currents which are now 
setting in from so many difierent points, will 
sweep from the public administraiion every ves- 
tige of the principles and doctrines of Virginia. 
It may be asserted, without fear of contradiciion, 
that no President of tli« United Stales has ever 
done more for the ascendency of Virginia princi- 
ples, than the present Chief Magistrate. I co- 
operated with you, gentlemen, and a large ma- 
jority of our fellow citizens of the State, in his 
election; and I may safely say, that no one ex- 
pec'.ation entertained by any of us.at that time.has 
been fals^ilied by the course of his admiiii;-;tration. 
Yo 1 will nil recollect, gentlemen, that : t tliat pe- 
riod, an unconslitutioiuil and coirujitiiig system of 
Internal Improvements, under the the pntron;ige 
of the Federal Government, was rapidly extend- 
ing its dangerous lures ami mischievous abus ;, 
over the country — that an unequal and oppres- 



sive system of taxation, for the protection and 
advancement of sectional interests, was steadily 
increasing its burthens, to the almost entire anni- 
hilation of tlie freedom of industry — and that the 
Bank of the United States, with the favor it then 
enjoyed, seemed likely to perpetuate for ever its 
triumph over the prostrate constitution of the 
land. 

These were the lliree grent, and, as we deemed 
them, pernicious and unconstitutional systems of 
national policy, against which the efforts of Virgi- 
nia had been zealously and perseveringly exerted 
through a long course of fruitless opposition. — 
rluy seemed, at that time, to be so fixed in ti\e 
affections of a majority of the nation, and in the 
habits of the public administration, that the pre- 
sent Chief Magistrate was called to the head of 
the Government, more, perhaps, in the confi- 
dence that he would restrain their abuses, tlian 
with tiie hope of his waging, as he has done, a 
war of uncoTiipr.imising opposition to them, on 
principle. But this he has manfully done; and, 
by the courageous exertion of his constitutional 
power, or by the moral influence of his great and 
deserved popularity, he has razed each one of 
these systems of gigantic corruption to the ground. 
Nothing can be more conclusive than the testimo- 
ny of one of the most zealous of his adversaries, 
and a leadlngmember of the administration which 
he succeeded, on this point. That gentleman has 
told us, on a recent occasion, that " If the pi-e- 
sent Chief Magistrate should go on in the course 
of innovation, (or, as we should call it, salutary 
reform,) he had coinmenced, hardly a vestige of 
the policy of the government, as it was on the 
4th of Miircii, 1829, would remain on the 4th of i 
March, 1837." Now, gentlemen, tliisis precisely 
the mission whicli we, of Virginia, at least, intend- 
ed by our votes, to confide to him; and if he has 
gone farther in its successful accomplishment 
tlian we had ventured to h.ope, it surely furnishes 
no matter for reproach or complaint with us, how- 
ever natur.tllj' it may do so to those who have been 
opposed alike to him, and to the policy and doc- 
trines of Virginia. On what ground of principle 
or honor is it, then, thst Virginia is now to unite 
with those who have been her steadfast political 
adversaries, in making war on an administration 
of her own choice, which has faithfully and tri- 
umphantly carried out her doctrines, and n-ore 
than fulfilled her most sanguine expectations' 

Before I close the remarks, gentlemen, which 
stemed cilled for on the present occasion, I shall 
find in your kindness and ])artiality an apology for 
a single observatioii on a subject relating to my- 
stlf. When, on my return from the service of 
my country in a foreign land, I was unexpectedly, 
and without any solicitation on my part, presented 
to the Legislature of my native State as a candi- 
d..te for a seat in the Senate of the United States, 
a gentleman, then a membci-, Hud perhaps the 
oldest member of the House of Delegates, one 
who had known me from my boyhood, and who 
had been, and is still, 1 am protid to say, my friend, 
tiirougii good ;ii;d llirotigii evil report, addressed 
me a Uiter r< questing- to know my opinions brief- 
ly on the leaiiiiig political topics of the day. In 
my reply, which was written on my journey heme- 



ward, and was necessarily hurried, I answered in 
his own laconic and significant language, that "I 
was anti-TarifF, anti-Nullification, anti-Bank, and 
a firm and decided supporter of the policy of Gen. 
Jackson's administration." My letter was read 
by him in his place in the House of Delegatf s; as 
is, doubtless, recollected by two gentlemen now 
present, and then members of the Legislature; 
and upon the declarations of opinion contained in 
it, I had the honor of being unanimously elected 
(witli the exception of four or five votes) to the 
Senate of the United Stules— an honor which no 
one could appreciate with more grateful sensibili- 
ty tlian myseii; for tlie confidence and affection of 
my native St.ite I have ever regarded as the higli- 
est reward of my public service. Now, gentle- 
men, I think 1 have a right to ask, that my conduct 
in the discharge of tlie high duties confided to 
me, should be tried by the declaiation of princi 
pies I then made, and upon wliich I was unani- 
mously elected, with the exception mentioned. It 
has so happened that, in the course of the last 
eventful twelve-month, occasions have occurred 
to test the sincerity of every one of the opinions I 
profcssetl. It will be admitt. d, I think, by all 
that, by my course during the last session of Con- 
gress,^ I proved myself anti-Nullification and anti- 
Tariff — l)y my course during tl>e present, anti- 
Bank — and on both occasions, the friend of the 
present Administration, by giving- it that candid 
and honorable support which it seemed to me to 
deserve at the hands of the I'eople — especially the 
Peoplfi of Virginia. 

While I have thus redeemed every one of the 
pledges made by me at the time of my election, 
and upon which I was chosen by an almost unan- 
imous vote, iiud, as it would now seem, precisely 
because I have so redeemed them, I have had the 
misfortune to fall under the displeasure of the 
Legislature. Let it be my consolation to know! 
that, when I was chosen to the honorable office I ! 
have felt myself called on to lay down, it was! 
upon an honest and frank declaration of my prin-! 
ciples, to which I have faithfully adliered— that l' 
have broken no pledge, violated no promise, de- 
ceived no expectation. If there has been any 
change of princi|;le or opinion, I think 1 may 
stand up in the face of the world, and say, I have 
not changed. Nor do I believe, that the People 
of Virginia have changed. Amid the sudden and 
capi-icious mutations of parties, amid the violent 
conflicts of political ambition — the enlightened 
steadiness of the People, their incorruptible fi- 
dehty, and unwavering attachment to principle, 
have ever formed my most cheering reliance, and 
on their verdict, I shall rest with conscious secu- 
rity. When we look around us, and witness the 
infuriated contests of political leaders for power, 
the reckless extravagance of party spirit which 
animates the'r followers, the too o'ften angry and 
violent debutes of our public bocfies, and the fu- 
rious proscriptions of the public press, the heart 
of the patriot sickens with despondency and ap- 
prehension, for the fate of our republican system. 
But when our eyes are turned from this scene 
back to the People, the fountain of power — when 
we see ^Ae/n calm and unexcited, though vigilant 
and enlightened observers of the proceedings of 



their public men, marking with discriminating 
judgment, the merits and demerits of each, but 
kindling with the passions, and enlisting under 
the ambitious lead of none — shaping by their pa- 
triotic will, and controlling by the sober exercise 
of their power, the actual administration of their 
own affairs — our confidence revives with inerens- 
ed strength, and we feel that our happy institu- 
tions arc founded on the imperishable rock of 
ages. It is in this conviction, deeply felt and 
cherished with, enlivening confidence, that I offer 
you a sentiment, gentlemen, in which your hearty 
concurrence is assured to me, in advance: 

The People, the rightful source of all power — 
Their virtue and vigilance the corrective of bad, 
the support of good government. 

6. The People are sovereign: Let those who in- 
struct their agentii, first go to the source of all 
legitimate political power. 

7. James Madison: Look for his Ijistory to the 
annals of his country, and his doctrines of '98 and 
'99 — Time may blanch his brow and bend his form, 
imt his name, like his principles, will be immor- 
tal. 

8. Andrew Jackson, President of the United 
Slates: The Thtsus of Executive reform — he has 
not only pierced the corrupt labyrinth of the 
Bank, but he has destroyed the monster, and res- 
cued the liberties of the people from its expiring 
grasp. 

9. Nallljiers, Nationals, and Bankites. The ex- 
tremes of parties divided among themselves — 
united only in their ruthless and reckless warfare 
against the present administration. 

10. The Governor of Virginia: Official authori- 
ty, when it stoops from "its pride of place," 
sinks into the mere partisan — gratuitousl} and un- 
called-for, transcends the line of its prescribed 
duty — it is then deservedly censured and justly 
reb liked. 

11. The Union of the States and the Rights of 
the States: May the Traitor who dares to attempt 
the: destruction of either, find a Brutus with a 
dagger for his heart. 

12. The modern Triumvirate, Calhoun, thty^ 
and Webster: A rare and mysterious coalition, 
striving to win the Empire by division; but, if 
gained, each one determined to aim at a monopo- 
ly of the whole. 

13. William J. Duane: He who needs the ad- 
vice of a father, and 's insensible to the obliga- 
tions of a sacred pledge, is incapabla of advising, 
and unworthy of a seat in the councils of his coun- 
try. 

14. Woman: 

" Her look is to man's eyes a beam 

Of loveliness that never sets; 
Her voice is to his ear a dream 

Of melody it ne'er forgets. 
Alike in motion or repose — 

Awake or slumbering, sure to win; 
Her form, a vase transparent, shows 
The spirit's light enshrined within." 
VOLUNTEERS. 
1. By the Committee. Our Guest, Capt. Par- 
tridge: The distinguished instructer of youth — 
he will always teach the true doctrines of Repub- 
licanism. 



8 



After the annunciation of this toast, Capt. Par- 
tridge rose, and after expressing his acknowledg- 
ments, in a brief and neal address, offered the 
following toist: 

2. The Youth of our country: With pride may 
our citizens point to them, and say, " These are 
our jewels." 

3. By Col. G. W. Kinsolving. W. C Rives, 
Virginia's talented and favorite son: He .stands 
unmoved amidst the conflicting elements of the 
political world; may no clouds of prejudice ob- 
scure him in this political storm. 

A toast sent by Mr. Jesse Lewis, who had in- 
tended to be present in person, but was prevent- 
ed by circumstances beyond his control: 

4. The ship of State: A bold and hazardous 
tack, but now, probably, tlie only one that could 
have defeated the enemy. 

5. By Thomas .J. Randolph. Jesse Lewis: 
Thomas Jefferson's sample of a nation's wealth. 

6. Bv the Committee. Our Guest, Col. Wil- 
son, of Boteto\irt, a faithful and able member of 
the Republican phalanx in the late Legislature of 
Virginia. 

[After this toast was announced. Col. Wilson 
rose, and in a brief address defended the princi- 
ples he had maintained in the late Legislature, 
and ottered the following:] 

7. T!)e People of Virginia: May they speak in 
a voice not to be misunderstood, against the re- 
storation of the deposites and the recharter of the 
United States Bank. 

Thomas W. Maury, President of the Day, be- 
ing called upon for a toast, gave the following: 

8. The Address of the Minority of the Legisla- 
ture of Virginia on the deposite question — a torch 
from the vestal fane of '98. The popular breeze 
will fan the flame till it shall cease to be the lesser 
fire. 

Sent by Col. John R. Jones, who was unavoida- 
bly prevented from attending: 

9. Our Guest, ' William C. Rives: The honest 
politician, the true patriot, and firm supporter of 
the constitut'on of the United States. May his 
services ever be remembered with gratitude by 
the American People. 

10. By Col. Thomas Durret. William C. 
Rives: We hail him as the faithful and indepen- 
dent interpreter of the Constitution, and able 
supporter of the administration. May our next 
Legislature replace him in that station, which his 
magnanimity and high sense of honor caused him 

to resign. 



' 11. By Col. David Hays. William F. Gordon: 
False to his constituents; and 1 am in hopes the 
People will let him know it, when he returns 
home. 

12. By Craven Peyton. The Americans: 
Wise, brave and just. All the wealth of the 
universe would not i.iduce them to tarnish the 
fame of their two sons, Andrew Jackson and 
William C. Rives. 

13. By a student of the University. Our Guest, 
the Hon. Judge Irvin, of Michigan Territory — a 
true Virginian and firm supporter of the present 
administration. 

[After this toast, Judge Irvir\ made his ac- 
knowledgements in an appropriate manner, and 
oflTendthe following:] 

14. Virginia now, and Virginia forever. 

15. By Dr. Ch:istain Cocke. General Jackson 
— the stripling soldier of the revolution — the ve- 
teran hero of the last war, and now the venerable 
and unflinching patriot of to-day. 

16. By Allen T. Peebles. The guests at this 
banquet, a band of freemen, who are resolved to 
aid in saving the democracy of our country, by 
sedulousl)' supporting the disciples of the Jeffer- 
son Republic in School. 

17. By Williiim S. Dabney. The next Presi- 
dent of the United St:ites: May he, like the pre- 
sent, be called to office by the vDice of the Peo- 
ple, unawed by the frowns and unseduced by the 
smiles of any soulless corporation whatever. 

18. By William H. Brockenbrough. Virgi- 
nia, unbullied and unbought — her voice in '98, 
tUTor could not stifle — in '34, the Bank cannot 
buy. 

19. By Capt. John H. Craven. Patriots of '98 
and '99, watch! The enemy ai'e on the lines, or 
in the camp. 

20. By Col. Samuel Carr. The Rights of the 
States and ihe Union of the States — avoiding 
nullification on the one side, and consolidation 
on the others both equally daftgerous to the per- 
petuity fuid fi-eedom of our institutions. 

21. By Henry White, Esq. one of the Vice 
Presidents. The ensuing Ajjril Elections. Vir- 
ginia expects every man to do his duty without 
fear, favor, or affection. 

22. By Charles I. Merewether. May the re- 
solutions and ins/ructions sent to our Senator by 
our last Legislature, cause the political death of 
the majority; but the People will reward the mi- 
nority. 



W AgH 










'Ao^ 



'oK 



















X V '■^ • • • 



'o.»- A <, 



«J?«<.«=> 








-^v^^^^ 








^^o.^^' 







^:5. 'o . . * /% <- . . . 



-^^^^ 



< . . « • .0 o, 'o • 



. *=l, 










1 



